Health Care

Dengue fever emergency: 3-year-old dies in Iquitos

Dengue fever emergency: 3-year-old dies in Iquitos

A three-year-old boy died earlier this week of hemorrhagic dengue fever, in the regional hospital in Iquitos, in northeastern Peru.  The boy had been bitten by a mosquito in his village and was suffering from high temperatures and nose bleeding for six days before being taken to the Iquitos hospital.

The child is one of more than 12 fatalities from dengue so far this year in Peru. Cases reported have increased sharply since last year, both in Peru and Bolivia.   In Peru, more than 4,360 cases have been reported in the first eight weeks of this year, in the regions of Madre de Dios, Loreto and San Martin.

Health emergency for 90 days

The government has declared a 90-day health emergency in these three regions, where the total number of cases reported throughout 2019 was 12,233.  Health centers are also on high alert in the tropical areas of Tumbes, Lambayeque, La Libertad and Piura on the north coast, Junín, Cajamarca and Ayacucho in the highlands, and, Amazonas, Huánuco, Ucayali and Cusco

Dengue, both the classic or mild strain and the hemorrhagic strain, is a virus spread by mosquitoes in tropical areas, particularly in the lower rainforest.  Symptoms of the disease, which can take up to six days to surface, include high temperature, headaches and skin rashes, including bruising in the case of the hemorrhagic strain.

New dengue strain

However, a new strain has been detected in Madre de Dios, according to the Health ministry. The DEN-2 Cosmopolitan, known as the Asian-American strain, is particularly aggressive in very young children, older adults and people with hypertension and diabetes. Symptoms include shock from abdominal pains.

Prevention measures include the use of mosquito nets and clothing that covers arms and legs, ensuring garbage and human waste are hygienically disposed of, and that still water (in flower pots, and water containers such as cylinders and tanks, etc) be covered and kept very clean.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*